Thursday, April 11, 2013

I learned of Blessed Elizabeth
the same time I was brought to Carmel as a lay person after graduating
from college. Even though she read St. Therese and was heavily
influenced by her sister in Carmel, Blessed Elizabeth developed her own
distinct spirituality in the Church. For someone who was an enclosed
nun in Carmel, her correspondences were mostly to lay people. Her
fascination with Saint Paul, makes her another "apostle to the
gentiles." Elizabeth was a mystical soul. She spoke in the language of
the mystics and yet she found her own way of communicating the depths
of her inner experiences in a language that is familiar to us. The
mystery of the Indwelling Trinity was the mystery which appealed to her
the most, and consequently, the Divine Presence within. Her delight was
such when she found out that "Elizabeth" means "house of God." How
very fitting for this young lady who made it her mission to remind us
that we are the "living temples of the Spirit.""Let us live with God as with a
Friend. Let us make our faith a living thing, so as to remain in
communion with Him through everything. That is how saints are made. We
carry our heaven within us, since He who completely satisfies every
longing of the glorified souls in the light of the Beatific Vision, is
giving Himself to us in faith and mystery. It is the same thing. It
seems to me I have found my heaven on earth, since heaven is God and God
in in my soul. The day I understood that, everything became clear to
me, and I wish I could whisper this secret to those I love in order that
they also might cling closely to God through everything."

How does one develop an awareness of the Trinitarian indwelling?This
is a theological question requiring an expert. Far be it for me to
presume such expertise! But for whatever its worth, I can share some
insights. "Awareness" is an attitude requiring fine tuning. It is a
habitual stance which is acquired through repeated acts and practice.
But first and foremost it is a grace. Our Carmelite saints, foremost
among them is St. John of the Cross, wrote that God is infinite and
cannot be contained. Our mind is too small to contain God. It is only
faith which can capture Him. To be aware of the presence of God within
us, we can make use of the natural faculties God endowed us with. We
can "imagine" ourselves as the tabernacle which contains the Blessed
Host. It focuses our mind to think of something concrete. And yet,
this example is not accurate because we are truly,
by baptism, temples of the living God. It is not an imagined reality,
it is the truth. But to be aware of this, human that we are, our mind
will need something material to attach itself to so that it can picture
the reality. So imagine yourself as a tabernacle, the one you see in
Churches, and picture the Blessed Host within you. Then after making a
habit of doing this, one can engage in a "conversation" with our Lord,
at every moment, in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in. This
is a practice of the interior life , a "simple glance at the King who
lives in the center of the mansion" as St. Teresa would say. Use of
ejaculatory prayers- short, holy expression of sentiments- can help us
remain in this holy Presence.

How did Blessed Elizabeth approach prayer? Again, her words "let us live with God as with a friend,"
means familiarity, constancy, fidelity. Prayer, for Elizabeth, was a
glance, a sigh of love and desire, a movement towards inner
recollection, so that she can listen to the Master who was constantly
speaking to her in the events of her life. Elizabeth's prayers were
spontaneous, an ongoing dialogue with the Trinity within her. She
longed for silence and solitude because they allowed her to give herself
fully to the work of listening. The Teresian Carmel obliges the nuns
to pray 2 hours of contemplative prayer or meditation, one in the
morning and another in the afternoon. Elizabeth also would have
participated in the recitation of the full Divine Office which would
have required about 7 hours a day. Being in the cloister certainly
facilitated contemplative prayer. Can we enjoy this kind of prayer
when our lives are so different from hers, with all the work and
distractions we face daily? Or is contemplation only a privilege given
to a few? It depends on how one describes contemplation. In my
definition, contemplation is nothing more than recognizing God in
everything. It is the ability to see the will of God, through the eye
of faith, in everything that happens to us. There are no accidents, no
second causes. We see everything as ordained by God. St. John of the
Cross, whose writings influenced Elizabeth tremendously, advised:
"Where there is no love, put love, and you will find love." This kind
of contemplation is our vocation. God has precisely given us
Elizabeth to assure us that it is possible.

MONTHLY ARTICLES

Disclaimer

The views expressed on this site are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm. Articles posted were taken from various writings found in books and publications already available to the public. Links and blog sites posted are sites of interest and not endorsements. Photos used are either personal or taken from public sites like photo bucket and Google. Photos are for visual enhancement to the articles and not for profit.Please contact me if copyrights were unintentionally infringed.